User:Immanuelle/Expansions to Isagawa Shrine

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History

It is said that on February 3, 593, during the first year of the reign of Empress Suiko, Omiwa no Kimi Hakutsutsumi enshrined the Empress Himetataraisuzuhime, the wife of Emperor Jimmu, at this shrine by imperial decree , and it is the oldest shrine in Nara City. Later, Empress Gensho enshrined Himetataraisuzu-hime's father, Sai no Okami, on the right side of the main hall, and her mother, Tamakushihime, on the left side.

In 852, during the reign of Emperor Montoku , he was awarded the rank of Junior Fifth Rank and was given six divine titles (four in the Sakyo region and two in Tango Province ) . In December 1180, the shrine was burned down during the Siege of Nara by Taira no Shigehira .

It was rebuilt in 1190 with the support of Kofuku-ji Temple, and thereafter came under the control of the temple.

Since the Middle Ages, it has been managed by the Kasuga Wakamiya priests and has come to be known as "Kasuga Saegusa Shrine." For this reason, records of shrine relocations during the Middle Ages are often recorded in the Daijoin Temple and Shrine Miscellaneous Records . In the early modern period, it was one of the eleven shrines in the outer sanctuary of Kasuga Taisha Shrine, but in March 1877 ( Meiji 10), it was designated as Kawanishi-Okami Mikojinja Shrine, a branch shrine of Ogami Shrine, by an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs .

The child deity ( Himetataraisuzuhime ) is enshrined in the center of the main hall, with the parent deities (the father deity Sai no Okami to the west and the mother deity Tamakushihime to the east) enshrined on either side. For this reason, the deity has long been praised as " child-soothing deity ," and is devoutly worshipped as the deity of safe childbirth and child-rearing . The Rate River, which flows along the southern edge, is also commonly known as the Komori River.

Precincts

• Main Hall - Three one-bay Kasuga-style shrine buildings are built side by side and connected by partitions. Each has a seventh-class wooden staircase on the front, with a balustrade decorated with Giboshi . The roof is covered with cypress bark and has a box ridge with chigi katsuogi beams . Judging from the detailed construction, it is believed to have been built in the early Edo period .
  • Nakahonden (designated tangible cultural property by Nara Prefecture)
  • Right main hall (designated tangible cultural property by Nara Prefecture)
  • Left main hall (designated tangible cultural property by Nara Prefecture)
• Worship hall
• Otogawa Awa Shrine - See below
• Sumiyoshi Shrine - Deities: Kamitsutsuo, Nakatsutsuo, Sokotsutsuo, and Okinagaobihime
• Kasuga Shrine - Deities: Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto, Futsunushi, Ameno- Koyane-no-Mikoto, Himegami
• Frog Stone
• Shrine office

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  Worship hall
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  The main hall as seen from the side of the worship hall
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  Man'yoshu Poetry Monument
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  Planting Yew Trees
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  Sub-shrines and the Torii of Otogawa Awa Shrine
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  Sub-shrine Kasuga Shrine
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  Sub-shrine Sumiyoshi Shrine
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  Chozuya (purification fountain)
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  Frog Stone
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  Ogami Shrine Worship Site
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  Front Torii
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  Western Torii

Saegusa Festival

The annual festival, held on June 17th, is commonly known as the Lily Festival . The bamboo lilies that bloom on Mount Miwa were called saigusa in ancient times, and these flowers are offered to the deity.

The offering is

• Shiraki and pure sake are placed in a kettle (son), and kuroki and unrefined sake are placed in a can (hotogi), and the sake barrel is surrounded by lily stems.
• The matured food is placed in a box, covered with an oak leaf, and placed on a black wood shelf.
• Lilies are offered in a large bucket

The offerings are made in accordance with ancient customs, and the festival, which is based on the Chinka Festival, includes prayers for warding off evil epidemics.

On the day of the festival, in accordance with the ancient customs of the enshrined deity, Himetataraisuzu-hime, a procession of seven young maidens carrying lilies takes place throughout the town after the ceremony. This is an old festival that is recorded in the Taiho Code, and the Yōrō Code also states that "it is called the Saegusa Festival because it is a festival in which sake barrels are decorated with Saegusa flowers."

Isagawa Awa Shrine

Isagawa Awa Shrine is a subshrine dedicated to Kotoshironushi. It is located between Sumiyoshi Shrine and Kasuga Shrine, which are branch shrines of Isagawa Shrine.

It is said to have been erected by Dainagon Fujiwara no Korekimi in the second year of the Hōki era ( 771 ), and in the second year of the Jinshu era ( 852 ), he was awarded the rank of Junior Fifth Rank . A small shrine listed in the Engishiki Shinmei -cho as " Isagawa Awa Shrine " . The enshrined deity is Kotoshironushi no Mikoto, commonly known as Ebisu, and in addition to the regular festival on June 17th, the first Ebisu festival is held on January 5th .

The former site of Otogawa Awa Shrine in Nishikido-machi

It was destroyed by a peasant uprising in 1532 and by fire during the wars waged by the Miyoshi Trio and Matsunaga Hisahide . According to a mid- Edo period book by Murai Kodō " Narabō's clumsy explanation (奈良坊目拙解, Narabō Mokusetsukai) ," the old site was located on the south side of Nishijodo-cho, behind the second house from the east, and a single pine tree was enshrined as a sacred tree, but it had fallen into severe disrepair. It was not until the Meiji period that a small shrine was enshrined, and in 1920 ( Taisho 9), the main shrine building was moved to the grounds of Isagawa Shrine.

In 1959 ( Showa 34), due to development of the temple grounds, it was moved to its current location along with the subordinate shrines Sumiyoshi Shrine and Kasuga Shrine.

Currently, in front of the shrine building, there is a square stone lantern with the inscription " Awa Shrine, 1803 (3rd year of the Kyoho era )" that was moved from its previous location.